Sinopec to Cut Planned Crude Oil Imports by About 8%

By Wang Ying

Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., Asia's biggest oil refiner, will cut planned crude oil imports by about 8 percent for the rest of the year because of ``ample'' domestic supplies, a company official said today.

The Beijing-based company, known as Sinopec, will import at least 1 million metric tons less crude a month than planned and also reduce refinery run rates until the end of 2008, said the official, who declined to be identified because of internal rules.

The government raised fuel prices by as much as 18 percent on June 20, encouraging refiners to produce more fuels and draw down inventories. China's fuel shortage has receded, Zhang Guobao, who heads the National Energy Administration, the top energy regulator, said last month.

Sinopec processes between 13 million tons and 15 million tons of crude a month, most of which is purchased overseas, the official said. The company's refinery operating rates are ``much lower'' than the June-July levels, he said.

Sinopec has plans to cut crude imports as demand growth may slow for the rest of the year, Spokesman Huang Wensheng said today, without elaborating.

China cut its diesel and gasoline imports in August from a record as higher domestic prices spurred oil refiners to boost fuel supplies, the Customs General Administration of China said on Sept. 16.

With improved domestic supplies, China International United Petroleum & Chemical Corp., the country's biggest oil trader, would halt diesel purchases in August and September, a trader said on Aug. 7. China National United Oil Corp. would have reduced August imports by a ``big margin'' from July after boosting purchases for two months, a second trader said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Wang Ying in Hong Kong at wang30@bloomberg.net;